Simple
by Eme
Summary: sim·ple noun–adjective 1. easy to understand, deal with, use...: There are many things in life that are simple, women aren't one of them.


A little tid-bit I wrote in response to all the ficlets where Makoto and Nephrite just seem to dreamily fall into each others arms and be in love. There is one part of it I feel needs more tweaking but some more outside input might help me smooth it out.

**Update - So I was re-reading this to kind of get into my Sailor Moon Universe Headspace for the Shitennou Forums Ficathon, and came across what I think needed to be added to the piece. Just some little tweaks to break up the dialogue/list of Nephrite's. For some reason that was bothering me lol. **

And to everyone who said they wish there was more to this piece thank you, I will think about continuing the story-line but I make no promises.

I own absolutely nothing.

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Oh, he hadn't meant to hear it. He was just trying to get away from Kunzite, The Maelstrom of Silent Brooding.  
None the less he was the only witness to the transgression in the living room, however brief it may have been.

"Count yourself lucky Mako-chan, you two are so simple, you won't have to cry over an asshole!" With a flip of ebony hair an enraged Rei slammed a bedroom door on her tall friend.

The barb had hit a mark, even if it was unintentional. He watched as the strong Makoto's shoulders slumped, she bit her lip and looked at the door. Rei might as well of slapped the poor girl. Funny it never occurred to him that girls could be just as oblivious to their friend's feelings as guys.

Nephrite felt bad just standing there, but really, him trying to comfort her would only make matters worse since he was at the center. With a sigh he turned to retreat back out to the woods. This whole week was going to be hell.

It had been Usagi and Mamoru's grand plan, he assumed more Usagi's at any rate, to let the Senshi and Shitennou "get to know each other again". The whole thing reeked of matchmaking plans. He had wanted more than anything to turn down the offer, but the little blonde bunny had a way for getting what she wanted no matter what.

So here they were, the eight of them, in a cabin, his cabin actually, and disaster everywhere. There were explosive fights between Rei and Jadiete, Zoicite was tripping over himself to get Ami to have more than friendly feelings for him and throwing tantrums when it didn't work. And Kunzite wavered from brooding depression to jealous maniac as Minako pranced around the house doing her best "you can't catch me" act. Which left one Makoto Kino and himself. For his part he'd been doing his best to just stay out of the woman's way and she seemed to appreciate the gesture.

It would appear that the rest of the girly gang took that as a sign of the two "rekindling past love", even thinking the phrase left a sour taste.

It just didn't seem right, it didn't seem fair to him that just because his past self had supposedly been in love with her past self, that today they "must be destined for one another". Especially when he couldn't clearly recount any of this to deny or confirm that allegation. He would concede that Usagi and Mamoru were made for each other in any lifetime, BUT could that really happen four times over in the same group of friends? Doubtful.

It simply wasn't in his plan to fall in love with anyone. Women were trouble, and a liability that he just did not want or need.

Simple. That was the word Rei had used to describe Makoto.  
No woman was simple and Makoto Kino he was sure was no exception.

It was true that she and he had not gotten into any rows as of yet, but it was also true that they had not shared a single moment together.  
This did not go towards a happily ever after.  
As far as he could see Makoto was too busy chasing after crying and raging friends to be trying to pursue a relationship with anyone.

Simple.

Why did they think her simple?

He knew they hadn't meant it as her being stupid, or slow. He hadn't witnessed any moments of air headed blonde glory like Minako the Leader of the Senshi could sometimes make. Truth be told he hadn't given the auburn girl enough attention to say yea or nay to this description.

Simple.

What a horrible word to call any girl let alone a dear friend. Once again he marveled at the cruelty of women.

It mattered very little that the description was suppose to go for him as well.  
What did he care if they thought he was simple, it just showed how little they knew him.

He began observing Makoto, from a distance of course. Merely out of curiosity, why everyone seemed so dead sure they'd be perfect together, and to see if simple was an accurate depiction.

At dinner he noticed how wordlessly and happily she served up her latest culinary work to the table of chaotic people. It had been a startling image at first, before that his only interaction with her had been on the battlefield, a picture, which seemed to contradict this seemingly picturesque one. In fact everything civilian Makoto Kino did seemed to be in direct conflict with Sailor Jupiter's actions.

Makoto was the one all the girls ran to, to settle disputes and calm things down. Jupiter could always be counted on to engage an enemy in battle verbally and physically. Makoto would always happily go wherever the girls wanted without a fight, even if it was shopping in a store that ten to one did not have a single thing in her size. Jupiter had a clear plan of action that may or may not jive with the others but she did it anyway. For a while he considered the possibility of split personalities but it seemed unlikely to allow a mental unbalanced person to protect one of the most important people in the Universe.

However close the Senshi were to each other, as the days went on it seemed to Nephrite that the tallest senshi kept much to herself, and this somehow seemed correct as if this was always the case.

She never confronted Rei on the indirect insult, which had obviously hurt her feelings. The few conversation that Nephrite had overheard, purely on accident, she had never been talking about him. Even when they had asked about him, the green eyed girl would laugh and change the subject.

In fact she seemed dead set on avoiding him for some reason. No one else… just him, she and Kunzite had taken to sparring in the mornings, Kunzite falling easily back into his Sensei role. She and Zoicite could be found battling it out on the Playstation at night with Minako cheering them on. There were many times he was convinced that her friendly arm around Jadeites shoulder leading him away from the fuming Rei was the only thing that saved the blonde man from instant destruction.

But she kept a calm civil distance from him. It was beginning to unnerve him, how easily she slipped from cold and unyielding to warm and fun loving with the entrance of one of her friends. Indeed her felicity seemed solely dependent on those she surrounded herself with, when left to her own devices her countenance took on a stern contemplation that rivaled Kunzite in its broodiness. Something was thoroughly troubling the girl, something she was hiding.

He started noticing her slipping off from the group when they became too involved in themselves to notice, or if they did notice it must have been too common place an occurrence to comment on.

For observations sake he began to follow her. She invariably went wondering around the country side with no apparent destination.  
She seemed to have knack for losing him after 30 minutes or so and by the time that he returned to the cabin she would already be there as if by magic.

So it should have been no surprise to find her out in the woods.  
But when he stumbled across the sight of her he had to do a double take.

She was swinging on a very rustic tree swing attached to a grand old oak. It was a positively feminine picture, this ancient tree and her in fluttering autumn colored circle skirts, hair down, feet bare swaying back and forth as if she'd been doing it for all of time.

He didn't know why but he just stood there half hidden in the forest watching her.  
It was a past-time he could have been caught doing more than once this past week.

Curiosity was what he chocked it all up to, what with all this chaos about them.

"It's not polite to stare you know." She said. Simply, directly, that was her way.

He easily strode over to the tree.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"The trees don't generally allow people to sneak up on me." She smirked, continuing her steady pendulum act occasionally giving herself a push against the trunk.

He nodded rather redundantly, of course the senshi of lightening and nature would be more than comfortable in the depths of the forest.  
He watched her gently swaying back and forth, her sunny nature now hidden behind clouds of contemplation.

"Tension in the house is unbearable, hey. I know you'll be glad when this is all over."

She scoffed a very unfeminine sound coming from such an utterly feminine visage in front of him.

"You _know, _eh?" She raised a delicate eyebrow his way. Leaning against the tree trunk fully he looked down at the nymph who held his gaze so seriously and it was with some smugness that he replied.

"I think you'd be surprised how much I know about you." He was quite certain that if he smiled, and was charming, that perhaps they could establish some sort of friendship. Surprisingly over the past few days he found himself wanting more and more to be able to be well…friendly, and have her be not so damn civil to him.

"So shock me." She never stopped her swinging and didn't bother to look up at him.

"You're favorite dessert to make is Cherry Pie." He stated mater of factly. She scoffed pushing off the trunk lithely

"Everyone knows that."

He smirked, leaning farther back against the tree, hoping that she'd look his way.

"You prefer to run around barefoot whenever possible, and like to sit with your feet up in some way." The smile came easily to his lips as he watched her very bare feet curl at the observation, and continued with bravado. "You paint your toes but not your nails because you wind up chipping the paint off when you're bored."

He had spent one evening watching this particularly interesting habit of hers, it had taken her two hours to meticulously and absentmindedly chip every fleck of peach nail polish from her hands, which only hours ago Minako had caringly applied. He watched a startled smile start to play out on her face as she realized just how much he knew, but still she did not look at him. He couldn't help but grin a little wider as the list went on.

"You only use natural fragrances as perfumes. You like romantic period films just as much as the bloody heroic ones. You like to take care of everyone, you've pre conditioned the girls to rely on you."

As his last, slightly more in depth, observation hit its mark, he got his desired result, her eyes locked with his.

"You love to laugh, and are happiest when with others. You like to cook because it provides for others but also because you are in control while cooking; I imagine it is some way to cope with everything that is out of your control. You've been caught up in chaos for so long it seems normal and strive just to make your friends happy. You struggle daily with the expectations of being strong for them and the need of more for yourself. But always you just want to be loved, and those you love to be happy."

There was a moment, when starlight blue and emerald green just stared. Her swinging had slowed almost to a stop and she looked so tired in that moment, so vulnerable. He felt some tug at his mind, some memory of those eyes trying to resurface. The strong urge to collect her up in his arms and take her away from whatever was plaguing her ate at his muscles, but before he could act she turned sharply from his gaze.

" You think it's so simple." Her eyes narrowed, she launched herself strongly back into the swing. "Just because you made a few observations watching me from the corner of your eye. For what? A week? As easy as charting the stars you think you know me? I'm not just some simple girl; I'm not just some violent tomboy."

The rhythm of her words matched so evenly with the rhythm of her swing it was almost hypnotizing.

"At the end of the day you don't know anymore than the waiter who flirted so sweetly this afternoon, or the countless other guys that gave me a moment of their time. And in the end that's all there can be, because I don't have to answer to them. I don't have to try and explain how my life isn't my own."

She had begun to spin and twirl on the rope, pushing off from the trunk of the tree with increasing velocity, causing the braches to quiver and shake under her now torrent ride.

"They think we are the closest to rekindling the past." She snorted at her own comment, and kicked harder off her tree.

"However I may have felt in the past. Things I don't even remember, and even if I did don't worry. I'm letting you off the hook. I know you want nothing more to do with me, and that's fine. Souls change, they learn, they grow. Isn't that what you told us all when you came back?" She glanced up her eyes darkening with intensity for a brief moment before returning their steady glare at the tree.

" Well my soul has changed too. This simple girl is not looking to capture your attention, and no one can capture mine. Despite what Mina-chan _knows_, what Rei-chan _feels_ and what Ami-chan _thinks_, this will never work. Even if in some past life we found some carnal comfort in each other it could never be love, it could never be forever. It would jeopardize our duty, our very meaning in life. How can I have a soul mate when my soul is so irrevocably claimed by another's life?"

She jumped lithely down from the swing and stood some distance from him, her hair still loose in the oncoming storms wind, leaves rolling at her bare feet. She looked him hard in the eye and left.

Nephrite sat somewhat cautiously on the swing looking after the auburn storm as she retreated into the trees.  
She had imprinted herself, her enigma on his brain, and it was no longer simple.

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